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I IIssue: October
2006 I Editor: Berry Everitt I |
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Your Area Specialist:
Chas Everitt International
sales agents have all the latest market information
regarding local property values at their fingertips
– and are committed to the highest standards of
personal service when it comes to selling your home.
In addition, the Chas Everitt International Property
Group offers you, the homeowner, the best possible exposure
for your property in both national and international
markets. So if you are thinking of selling your home,
call your nearest Chas Everitt International office
today for the name of your local area specialist - or
visit www.chaseveritt.com
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Every month the Property
Signpost Newsletter will be issued to all our
subscribers, filled with real estate information to
help you make an informed decision, whether you are
buying or selling a property.
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Contents
1. Welcome
By Publisher
2. Home seller
know thy buyer
3. How
to keep plumbing nightmares at bay
4. What to
do about veld fires
5. Don’t
let cooling bills make your blood boil
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1.
Welcome By Publisher
Summer has arrived with a bang, and
the hot weather already has everyone dreaming about
long holiday afternoons when moving slowly or not
at all will be the order of the day.
But one thing that most people
don’t want to move slowly is the sale of their
property – and that is a worry for us at the
moment in the light of the new Credit Act.
This legislation is due to come into
full effect by July next year, but banks and other
lenders are already starting to implement some of
the provisions, one of which is that they must check
on the overall credit exposure of any borrower before
they can approve any new loan.
To do this they have to source information
about all and any of the borrower’s current
personal loans, vehicle finance agreements, HP agreements,
store cards and micro loans, as well as existing home
loans, from each and every other lender involved.
Which of course should not be a problem
in this age of technology – except for one thing.
There is currently no consolidated database that prospective
lenders can go to for this information, and while
the banks and other players have begun building one,
it is not going to happen overnight.
So, while we welcome the new legislation
for the protection it will ultimately give borrowers,
we are concerned that it is going to take much longer
for the foreseeable future for banks to approve home
loans – especially since they face huge fines
if they do not do proper credit exposure checks.
And that will be bad for other consumers
– namely, home sellers, who we understand will
shortly face a wait of 60 days or more (as opposed
to the current average of 14 days) to find out whether
prospective buyers can obtain a home loan and thus
fulfill the first suspensive condition of their offers
to purchase.
This delay, which will also affect
everyone else in the property sale chain, will be
bad enough if the loan is then approved – but
verge on disastrous if the buyer is turned down for
a loan and the seller has to start marketing the property
all over again.
In short, the
new Act threatens to throw a very large spanner into
the property market works unless a way can be found
– and fast - to resolve this problem.
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2.
Home seller
know thy buyer
While most sellers know by now that a well-priced
property will sell faster and more easily, not everyone
has heard that you can increase your chances of a
quick sale by specifically targeting the group of
buyers most likely to find your house appealing.
And you could do worse than making sure your home
appeals to “baby boomers” – the
generation of people currently aged between 42 and
60, many of whom have considerable spending power
and are not shy to use it.
A recent study by US market research company GfK
Roper Reports revealed that above all, baby boomers
want their homes to reflect their personal and career
successes – the fact that they have “arrived”
at the point where they can afford a home with all
the features that were regarded by their parents as
luxuries.
The top five of these must-have features –
which in our experience are the same in SA as the
US – are a state-of-the-art kitchen, a dressing
room off the main bedroom, a whirlpool bath, a fireplace
and a swimming pool. Also high on the “boomer”
wish list are a workshop or hobby studio, patios and
decks, and gardens.
So sellers whose homes have most or all of these
features can be pretty sure their target market is
the boomer rather than the “Generation X”
buyer big on informality and open-plan layouts or
the “Generation Y” buyer looking for convenience
and a technology-friendly home.
This means they can ensure that the marketing of
their home speaks to this audience – and can
perhaps even introduce a few refinements to enhance
the appeal of their property. For example, since boomers
are usually keen on displaying treasures collected
over the years, they might consider creating a specific
space in the living room or entrance for showing off
valuable artworks or interesting artefacts.
On the other hand, if they’re planning to update
a kitchen or bathroom before selling, they should
do so with care and keep the décor very neutral,
because boomers prefer to put their own stamp on these
rooms.
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3.
How to keep
plumbing nightmares at bay
The trouble with plumbing problems
is that they are mostly out of sight – and out
of mind - until they pop up as major expenses.
With plumbing generally being hidden in walls, under
floors or above ceilings, most people don’t give
it a thought until mould rears its ugly head somewhere
or the lounge carpet develops an inexplicable damp patch.
However, older houses are especially
prone to plumbing problems, so you do need to pay particular
attention to this when buying a “golden oldie”.
And if you already own a home you can use the following
checklist to find problems before they become major
issues involving huge upheaval and massive repair bills.
- Inspect your geyser regularly for any signs of
leakage. If the geyser is old and worn, which is
likely in older homes, consider replacing it to
prevent it bursting and causing extensive water
damage to ceilings, walls and floor coverings. And
if you do replace it, get a double benefit by choosing
an energy efficient model to cut down on power consumption
and your electricity bill.
- Inspect walls above the bathroom and kitchen
taps for any signs of mould or dampness, which would
indicate leaking pipes. If there is any sign of
trouble, repair it as soon as possible to prevent
major damage to walls.
- Check tiles around baths and basins. Replace loose
or missing caulking that can allow water to seep
into walls or floors behind or under the tiles.
- Check around the base of toilets. Dark stains
here indicate mould while white stains indicate
efflorescence, or mineral residues from evaporated
water and either way, there is probably a crack
or leak that needs repairing.
- Look out for calcium deposits in pipes that can
affect water pressure. Signs of these are taps that
trickle and toilets that refill very slowly. You
will need to contact a plumber for advice on clearing
or replacing the affected pipes.
- Fix or replace leaking taps immediately. Aside
from wasting a precious resource, dripping taps
can cause discolouration of basins and baths if
there is a high mineral content in the water
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4.
What to
do about veld fires
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Runaway veld fires are a major worry
these days for an increasing number of homeowners
in the countryside as well as farmers and foresters,
and with much of the country gasping for summer rains
now, tinder dry grass poses a serious fire hazard.
But there is much homeowners can
do to protect their properties, starting by removing
or cutting back all combustible material to create
a safety zone of about 20 to 30m around the home.
As a preventative measure, lawns should be kept short
and fallen leaves, seedpods or flowers regularly raked
up.
Any tree branches that extend over
the roof should also be removed and tree crowns should
be thinned to leave a space of at least five metres
between specimens.
In addition, you should make sure
you have a hose that reaches to every part of your
property, permanently connected to a reliable outside
water source, tank or pump - and that all family members
and staff know where it is kept and how it works.
Most importantly, everyone on the
property, including children, should understand the
serious nature of veld fires, know how to contact
the local fire brigade or volunteers and especially
have a set drill for getting out and away safely when
an out-of-control fire poses a sudden threat.
Similarly, if there is advance warning
of fire spreading to the area you are advised to evacuate
your property, your first response should be to make
sure all family members are wearing protective clothing,
that you have emergency supplies such as drinking
water with you, and that someone outside the danger
area knows that you are leaving and where you are
planning to go.
Then if you
have time, hose down everything within 5m of the house,
place a lawn sprinkler on the roof, and lock your
doors before you go.
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5. Don’t
let cooling bills make your blood boil
When temperatures soar
in the summer, sales of air-conditioning units also
tend to rocket – followed closely by household
electricity bills. But homeowners don’t have to
get hot and bothered over this issue. They can keep
aircon operating costs down in the following ways:
- Set the thermostat as high as
comfortably possible – the less difference
between indoor and outdoor temperatures, the lower
the cooling bill will be;
- Don’t set the thermostat
at a cooler setting than normal when turning the
aircon on – this will not cool your home any
faster but will consume more power;
- Consider using an interior fan
in conjunction with a wall-mounted air conditioner
– this will not greatly increase the power
bill but will help to move cooled air more efficiently
through your home;
- Keep lamps or TV sets away from
the thermostat to prevent misleading readings resulting
in overcooling;
- Keep air-con units out of the
sun by positioning them in the shade of a large
tree or shrub or fitting a shade-cloth cover - a
unit operating in shade uses as much as 10 percent
less electricity than a unit operating in the full
glare of the summer sun; and
- If your existing aircon unit is
10 years or older or needs constant repairs, consider
replacing it with a modern, energy-efficient model.
And remember, proper home insulation
can cut more than 10 percent a year off your energy
bills, since it not only stops the loss of cool air
in summer but of even more expensive heat in winter.
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